The Other Yamanaka
by gendrogen
Summary: Big nose, acne ridden, wide eyes, greasy brown hair, skinny, Sono was nothing like her twin sister Ino. She wants to be more than the 'other' sister; this may be achieved but will romance destroy her plans? (ShinoxOc or ChojixOc . . . though much later in the story)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

* * *

"This means I'm speaking"

_'This is a thought'_

_This is a jutsu or Japanese word_

* * *

**Chapter: 1**

Gazing in the mirror was twelve year old Sono. Big nose, acne ridden, wide eyes, greasy brown hair, skinny, Sono. Sono's name wasn't ugly but she definitely was. Sono, short for Sonohoka meant 'the other'. That's what Sono was; Sono was the other Yamanaka child. She was the twin sister of Ino, yet people in Konoha could barely believe they were sisters.

Ino was far prettier than Sono; she was prettier in almost every aspect of life as well. Ino was faster, stronger, and more social than Sono but she wasn't smarter. Sono's smarts came from her love of books, to the deepest of her heart she was a bookworm. Her frequent visits to the library would last hours. She'd indulge herself in every type of book there was. Whether it be; fiction or non-fiction, history or mathematics, bibliographies or autobiographies, Sono loved them all. But there was one genre of book that Sono loved the most. This genre was ninja.

Sono was already a ninja because of her clan, but she wanted to know more about being a shinobi. The shinobi section of the library answered her questions. She learned vast quantities of information from the books. Her only limitation was her academy status. Academy students could only read E and D ranked materials. No way in hell would Konoha allow academy students learn A or B ranked jutsu's.

Sono didn't bother to learn all the E or D ranked jutsu's, she chose to divert her attention to the basics and a few small _suiton_ jutsu's. From an early age it was clear that _suiton_ would be Sono's nature transformation. Her parents didn't even have to test her they just knew; probably because she took after her mom and her mom's side was greatly affiliated with _suiton. _

_Suiton_ allowed her to attack long ranged because she was no taijutsu extraordinaire. Learning _suiton _jutsu's was also a big priority for Sono because her clan offered very few combative techniques. The only one she knew, sh_intenshin no jutsu, _would be disastrous if used on the battle field. Jutsu's weren't the only thing read by Sono; she discovered various chakra control exercises and hand seal books, which she read intently.

"Sono let's go! We're going to be late and if I'm late I won't get a seat next to Sasuke-kun," Ino squealed

_'Ugh that voice.'_

* * *

To Sono, Ino's high pitched, girly, annoying voice was a huge flaw. To her parents, it wasn't. Sono's parents viewed Ino as the star child of the family. Ino crafted this image of herself by obeying everything her parents said and giving them the utmost respect all the time. Visitors thought of Ino as the perfect child they'd wish to have. This was very untrue because Ino did have flaws, she just knew how to conceal them. Sono was quite the opposite, her flaws spewed out of her 24/7 . . . well almost all of her flaws.

There were two flaws that Sono tried to hardest to keep private. It was hard for her to do so because both of these flaws effected her speech. Sono had a bad stuttering problem and Tourette's. Over the years Sono had started to stutter less but her Tourette's worsened. Her Tourette's wasn't body tics or jerking motions, her Tourette's was swearing. In a sentence spoken by her, a curse word would be said every five words. Her colorful vocabulary could be blamed on a lack of parenting or it also could be blamed upon exposure to her grandfather.

Besides her speech impediments, Sono's family didn't like her very much. Inoichi and Tanaka Yamanaka planned for only one daughter but fate blessed them with two. From the womb Ino was the stronger child. Naturally Ino came out healthy and strong while Sono had to be surgically removed. Sono was a sickly infant. Doctors gave her three months to live but she proved them wrong. Her illnesses as a child still effects her today; her physical strength and stamina weren't up to par with any of her classmates. Combined that and a small chakra reserve and you have a hopeless kunoichi; a.k.a. Sono.

* * *

"I-I-I'll try t-t-to hurry bitch, I-I-I mean Ino."

Sono never liked to talk much, her speech impediments gave her an excuse to be quiet. In a way, she was a pseudo-mute girl. Being quiet allowed her to observe the world around her. Her observation skills were remarkably better than anyone her age. But one can only observe so much before the world around them becomes boring. Sono was used to boredom, she couldn't play with others because of her speech so she became a loner. However, fate allowed her to meet two other loner-ish type of kids; Shino and Hinata.

Shino and Hinata were never friends before, but with both of them sharing Sono as their sole friend they were forced to become friends. Sono didn't meet both of them at the same time, she met Shino first then Hinata.

* * *

The first day at the academy was very hectic for Sono. She didn't have any friends to eat lunch with, her sister would never allow her to sit with her, and she had no-one to play with. Towards the end of her day, people in her class identified her as 'the ugly loser who just happened to be Ino's sister.' The rest of her first week went the same but she avoided recess and chose to cry indoors instead. She cried about the name calling, the bullying and her family problems. On the last day she decided to change things up by walking to the outmost corner of the playground. There she watched the other kids have fun.

Sono didn't know what fun felt like so the closet thing she had to it was to watch others. She never identified her hobby of reading as fun, she just categorize it as a priority and an interest that she had.

* * *

While in the corner , Sono grew tired of standing so she sat but she didn't land on the concrete. She landed on a finger, a finger that belonged to Shino Aburame. From that point, a strong friendship was formed. Shino didn't like to talk which suited Sono perfectly. They both enjoyed the quietness. Words were rarely tossed between the two which made others wonder how they could be friends if they didn't know anything about the other. The information and knowledge about the other wasn't relevant in this relationship which made their friendship stronger than most.

Hinata was added into the mix three years later. Her story was quite the same, except Sono didn't sit on her finger nor did she wander to the edge of the playground. Hinata was alone swinging on a swing set. A group of kids were around her teasing her, calling her names and one boy was daring enough to pull her hair. Both Sono and Shino saw what was 'going down' and they immediately defended their soon to be friend.

* * *

"Sono I'm not joking! If you make me late today, I'll pummel you into next week!"

_'Why does she have to be scary in the mornings? It's just Sasuke he's not even that attractive.'_

Sono rushed through her morning routine in fear of her sisters threats. Sono put on her basic ninja gear consisting of a crimson jacket similar to that of Hinata's, white capris and black ninja sandals. Her hair, greasy and unwashed, was tied up into a bun. Sono was different than most girls about her appearance. She didn't care about beauty nor did she ever want to. She also didn't care for short, revealing articles of clothing. Sono was the type of girl who hid her body and would never be caught dead in shorts.

Her fashion sense was in high contrast to her sisters. Ino had a fit body while Sono was skinny. Ino's height added greatly to her looks, while Sono was one of the shortest in her class. Ino's skin was mark less while Sono's was either: rough, dry, bombarded with acne, or a combination of the three. Lastly, Ino took great pride in her hair. It was soft, silky and long; most of her time was wasted on it. Sono didn't give a damn about her hair! She only left it long because it took to much work to cut it. This gave off a vibe to Ino that Sono liked Sasuke because, there was a rumor spreading around that Sasuke liked long haired girls.

* * *

Sono stepped down the stair of the Yamanaka estate and headed out the door. She was more-so drug out the door by her sister. Ino was moving at a fast pace; the pace was fast enough to get Sono winded before the two were halfway to the academy.

"I-I-Ino, I need to ta-ta-take a fucking breather!" Sono wheezed.

"There's no time. If I stop for even a moment, I'll miss my chance to sit near HIM!"

Sono's plea only made Ino's pace increase. Sono's stamina soon wore out and she started seeing black tunnels encircle her eyes. Her breathing became shallow and her head started to bob. Ino paid no attention to her sister, who was on the verge of passing out.

* * *

The sight unfolding in Konoha's dusty streets was quite odd. The sight was of the two sisters. To anyone watching them, it looked like the blonde sister was dragging the brunette sister someplace. The thing that made this sight odd was that the brunette sister had passed out and was being drug in the dirt by the blonde. The blonde looked like she was ignoring the passed out brunette and continued dragging her, getting the brunette very dirty in the process.

The Yamanaka sisters arrived to the academy; well one of them did. Sono was lying face down in the dirt about 200 meters from the academies entrance. This happened because Ino saw that her friends were getting closer to the academy than she and she definitely wasn't going to miss her chance to sit next to Sasuke. She made a split decision and dropped her knocked out sister on the ground then made a mad dash to her classroom.

* * *

Sono felt a jabbing sensation on the side of her torso. This sensation was followed by the feeling of small legs. The small legs crawled up and down Sono's skin before she realized it was-

"Bu-ug-ugs?"

"Thank kami you're okay. Shino and I found you passed out," Hinata said.

Sono stood up and pulled both her friends into the academy. She then pointed to her sister, hoping that Shino and Hinata would figure out that Ino did this to her.

_'Some sister she is. Why can't Hinata or Shino be my sibling instead of her!'_

Ino however didn't pay attention to Sono's pointing. Ino barely paid attention to Sono in school because they were on two different social classes. Ino was popular while Sono was a loser. Ino never dared to speak a word to Sono in fear that it might ruin her popularity.

The trio of Sono, Hinata and Shino took their seats in the back. The back corner of the classroom wasn't the popular hangout, it was the loser corner. It also so happened to be the coldest spot in the classroom. The classroom was average looking; the floor tiles weren't dirty but they sure could have been cleaner, the desk were scratched and vandalized to a point that the original color could no longer be seen and the cold metal chairs were sturdy and small. They had to be sturdy because an Akimichi was a student in the class. Oddly enough, the metal chairs were comfortable; some got so comfortable in the chairs that they fell asleep in class.

"Nice hair Sono, what'd ya do roll around with pigs!," Kiba teased.

Sono shot Kiba a nasty look and gazed towards the floor while discreetly picking the dirt out of her hair. Kiba only said his comment to get under her skin. Though Kiba teased her, he wasn't the biggest of Sono's bullies. Sono didn't dislike him for it either; she just saw that he was trying to be accepted into 'the crowd' so thus he teased her. Sono also didn't like him for it either; the only thing she liked about the boy was his cute puppy.

"Lay off would ya," Shikamaru said lazily.

Sono didn't look at Shikamaru; she just lightly smiled into her desk. Shikamaru was a nice guy; he sometimes stood up for others. But he was very lazy; Sono sometimes wondered how he could be a genius if all he did was sleep or day dream in class. Never once in her life did she see him study yet he was the smartest of her class.

"Hey Sono," Choji said with a mouthful of chips.

Choji perhaps was Sono's best acquaintance. The boy wasn't mean, he was a gentle spirit. Like Sono, he was teased by others. He was teased for his weight; Sono thought his weight suited him perfectly along with his chubby face.

Sono lightly waved back to Choji while staring directly into his eyes. Choji followed her eyes and quickly looked else were. His cheeks began to turn a rosy red color.

_'Weird, wonder what that's about,' _Sono thought.

* * *

Some elders in the village found it strange that Choji, Shikamaru, Ino and Sono weren't all friends. This was strange because the three clans they came from had a long history together. The children's fathers made up the famous Ino-Shika-Cho formation, and had long since been friends. They were supposed to pass the torch down to the next generation but the children never seemed to get along. Shikamaru and Choji got along just fine but it was the Yamanaka side that was the problem area. Ino never wanted to waster her time with the two losers in fear of it hurting her popularity; she also was too busy with Sasuke to care about them. Sono had a social barrier meaning her speech impediments prohibited her from communicating with the two. Communication was 'key' in the Ino-Shika-Cho formation so Sono wouldn't benefit the group much.

* * *

"Sit down now," Iruka commanded. "Today is the final day before graduation so we'll be reviewing the _bushin _and _henge_ techniques."

'_Oh Iruka, respected by few, disrespected by many,'_ Sono thought.

These two techniques were easy to Sono, The library gave her a head start on the basics.

"Everyone make a line starting with Sakura. I want you all to turn into me with the _henge._ You may begin Sakura."

"Gotcha," Sakura said while going through the hand seals slowly. "_Henge no jutsu._"

A puff of smoke surrounded Sakura who was in the form of Iruka.

"I did it, I did it! Did you see that Sasuke?"

_'Shannaro! I kicked ass!'_

"Great; next is Sono."

Sono nodded and stood in front of Iruka. She raced through the hand seals.

'_Her hand seal time . . . it rivals that of a jonin. She definitely has the best knowledge of the seals.' _Iruka thought.

Instead of scream or say the name of the jutsu, Sono thought it. A few years back, she read somewhere in a book that a jutsu could be thought instead of said. This however took months to learn. For that entire year, she practiced on taking a word or two out of a jutsus name. Now she's was at the point where she could think an entire jutsu.

_'Henge no jutsu.'_

"I expected none the less from you," Iruka said.

Sono dispersed and the next to take the stage was the troublemaker Naruto. In some ways, Sono envied him because he was a free spirit. He acted how he wanted in public and he was rebellious. That was the type of person Sono always wanted to be, but fate had her be the quiet, big nose, acne filled sister of Ino.

"'tebayo Iruka, get ready for this. _Oiroke no jutsu_!"

Smoke engulfed Naruto, well what use to be Naruto. What stood in his place was a-

_'Naked lady!' _Iruka thought.

Unrealistic blood streams shot out of Iruka's nose as he flew to the ground.

_'Pervert!'_ Nearly all the girls thought.

It took some time for Iruka to recover because he had just seen his second naked lady. Iruka was a virgin, so the thought of the opposite sex naked made his mind turn to mush.

"Naruto . . . STOP THE TRICKS! OUTSIDE NOW!

Naruto trudged slowly outside.

"As for the rest of you, class dismissed."

* * *

Sono nodded and walked out the doors. She didn't want to study because the academy jutsu's were easier than breathing. She continued walking home but took a misstep. She was too buys thinking about what _suiton_ jutsu she should practice before she noticed she was heading down the wrong direction. She however did notice when she heard the whizzing of a kunai.

* * *

**Terminology: **

_Shintenshin no jutsu - _The user sends their mind into their opponents body, granting them the ability to freely use the opponents body; Signature jutsu of the Yamanaka clan.

_Bushin no jutsu _- The user creates a replica of themself which isn't solid, it's more like an illusion.

_Henge no jutsu _- The user changes into a solid object or a person.

_Oiroke no jutsu_ - The user transforms into a naked man or women with smoke covering their genitalia.

_Kun _- Suffix used at the end of a boy's name to show friendship or familiarity. (Ex. Sasuke-kun)

_Suiton - _Water element

* * *

**I hope you liked this chapter. I'm debating on what team to put Sono on so the next update may come a little slow. Lastly flames/constructive criticism are welcome on this story. **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Sorry for the long update; also I will no longer be marking jutsu's or Japanese words with italics. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

"Now loooook what yo-yo-youuu maddde me do. 'Coulda poooked 'er eye out," the man said.

The street vendor in front of Sono was destroyed. Its contents of fruit lay messily on the ground. The man speaking reeked of sake. His cheeks flushed with the color red and his eyes were unfocused.

His knees were wobbling in his black pants. The weight of his chunin jacket seemed as if it could topple him over at any moment. His _hitai_ hung loosely from his head. The black hairs on his head were ruffled. Sono peered to the left of the man and spotted another man; he looked to be the owner of the street vendor. He was crouching behind his shattered vending cart with his knees tucked to his chest, bracing himself for another attack.

The intoxicated chunin looked away from Sono and back to the owner. He clumsily pulled out a kunai and demanded something. What Sono heard was barely audible but it sounded like the man wanted another bottle of sake. The owner shook his head back and forth, too scared to say anything. The chunin raised his kunai and prepared to strike. The owner closed his eyes and wished for his death to be fast.

"Stop," Sono shouted.

Her words sputtered out and the chunin paid no attention.

The kunai, bobbing inches away from the owner, continued to fall. The drunkard paid no attention to the outside world and continued his assault. Sono did not act; instead she saw the event unfold slowly. The kunai easily broke the skin at the top of the owners head; causing his blood to shoot out as if it was in a geyser. The man's eyes shot open and traced to Sono; she saw pain in his eyes. The kunai had stopped moving and was ¾ of the way into the man's skull. The eyes of the man remained open as he toppled backwards into a puddle, a puddle of his own blood.

* * *

All civilian eyes were on the drunk chunin, turned killer. The chunin stumbled towards Sono with a grim look on his face. Sono was too petrified at what just happened to move. The chunin sat down at the feet of Sono and he stared at the ground.

"They're gooiing to get meee," the chunin stammered.

Sono didn't dare respond to the man; she was too focused on escape options.

'If I turn and run I'd have a good twenty meter lead on him, but he could just grab me before I go. Damn it why can't I shunshin yet,' Sono thought.

"All of-of thisss, just 'cause I, I diiidn't pass," the man continued.

"Pass wha-what?" Sono questioned.

"Jonin exams; think a guy like-likee me 'ould pass wouldn't ya," the man said.

Sono remained quiet.

"Wouldn't ya," the main said with a harsher tone and his teeth clenched.

"Yes," Sono replied quickly.

"'Would have too, if if 'Hokage wassssn't a dumb-fuck. Whaaat's the point, It'd It'd be easssier to end it," the man said.

Sono understand just exactly what the chunin meant.

'Poor thing but he's right. He's already committed and act of treason by killing one of Konoha's. Adding to that he'd be charged with a second degree of murder and voluntary manslaughter. Though these counts wouldn't permit him with the death sentence, he surely would get life in prison,' Sono thought.

The drunkard stood up and walked backed to the corpse of the owner. He removed the kunai from the owners skull and placed it on his neck. Before ending it, he did something Sono didn't expect. He dug into his chunin vest and threw a small blue scroll at Sono. She fumbled with it for a short time before she caught it.

"Keep-keep it, It's aaa scroll with twooo jutsu I wanteeed to teach my son. But-but . . . Daddies not coming home today," the chunin said.

The chunin closed his eyes, tears welting down his face. He whispered something but Sono read his lips

'_Hara-kiri_,' Sono thought.

The kunai remained at the man's throat but it steadily picked up speed. With a quick slash, a portion of the man's throat was split and leaked with blood. The chunin didn't open his eyes; he kept them shut and fell with a 'thud' to the ground.

Sono felt broken; all of this could have been prevented if she would have helped. But she didn't, all she did was stand there like a scared puppy. The images of the dead owner and chunin replayed in Sono's head. The words 'useless' accompanied the images in her head. Tears didn't form in Sono's eyes because she had no emotional attachments to the two dead men. As rough as that sounded, she knew better than to shed tears for 'randoms'.

Sono heard a whooshing sound behind her head, but she refrained from movement.

"Hokage-sama would like to see you," a raspy voice said.

Sono nodded and slowly started walking to the Hokage's mansion.

* * *

The Hokage's office was quiet. Its aroma reeked of rustic smells; probably from the books. Small piles of paperwork were neatly organized on the Hokage's desk. Two plants could be spotted far in the corners. There was a purple coach directly to the left; or right depending on the way one was facing, of the Hokage's desk. Two chairs were placed across from the desk while one huge window was behind it. From the window, one could see the entire village of Konoha. The only up to date furniture in the room was a burgundy rug placed next to one of the plants.

Sono was ushered into the office by a man dressed in a black cloak and hawk mask. She read once about these figures and identified the person as an _ansatsu senjutsu tokushu butai_, or for short anbu. They were strong and almost a myth to villagers because civilians never saw them; that's because they weren't trying to be seen in the first place.

Sono sat with tense robotic like motions. She was in front of the Hokage; who wouldn't be intimidated? The Hokage, though small in size, could've easily scared off a country of shinobi. His tan colored face was tensed; his grey hair frizzed up, this being rare occasion in which his hat was off, his body poised, and his anbu out of sight.

"Nice day, isn't it Ms. Yamanaka?" The Hokage said.

His words easily filled the room and changed its atmosphere into a more relaxed feeling; it was as if he was speaking to an old friend.

'Ms. Yamanaka . . . that sounds like something my mom would say; I wonder how she is?' Sono thought.

* * *

"Ino, where's your sister?" Tanaka said.

"Mom like I'd know; I'm not that baka's keeper," Ino replied while making her way to the bathtub.

"Well can you go look for her; it's not like I'm worried, I just don't want her name to end up in the obituary," Tanaka said.

"Definitely not, I've sweated a total of fifteen minutes today. That's fifteen minutes of sweat and icky odors infesting my luscious hair! It needs to perfect for Sasuke-kun!" Ino squealed.

"But I-" Tanaka's words were blocked out by the slamming of a door and the muffling noise of the bathtub.

Tanaka sighed, "Well if I can't have both children, I'll be content with just Ino."

* * *

So far the conversation between Sono and the Hokage was just small talk. The Hokage would say the usual, 'how's the academy' or 'is your dad doing well', and Sono would with a, 'yes' or 'no' and the occasional head bob.

'Just get to the main point, I'm getting tired old man,' Sono thought.

The Hokage paused after his last small talk question and slowly started forming a new question; one that didn't beat around the bush, "I've been informed today that you were a bystander in a tragic event today, am I correct?"

Sono nodded.

"The event included the death of street vendor Giichi Yukio and the suicide of chunin Yuji Kobayashi. Is this correct?"

Sono nodded once more while thinking, 'where is this leading.'

"First off, you're not in trouble so you can stop tensing," The Hokage chuckled. "Second, I want to say a few words about death before you are released."

'Well that's a great way to introduce death,' Sono sarcastically thought.

"Your father probably taught you that shinobi will die; we usually die more patriotic than that of Yuji. Shinobi don't make their first kill until their genin years, but you're special. No academy student should have gone through what you did today. I apologize for these events, and I also apologize for what they will do to you mentally."

"Do t-t-to me?" Sono questioned.

"When I made my first kill, I had nightmares. I 'kept questioning why I did and how it felt. The person could have had a family or a goal in life, but I took it away. I robbed him of his existence and damned his soul to the after-life. I questioned myself and motivations after that day for months. Nothing felt the same," The Hokage said.

Sono softly whispered, "I could ha-av-have helped."

"If you intervened, you'd be dwelling in the same place as Giichi and Yuji. Don't take me wrong; you're very intelligent and proficient in suition, but Yuji was better, he even learned another affinity, raiton, and was working on a way to mix the two," The Hokage said.

Sono dropped her head, sadly acknowledging that the Hokage was right. Anything she would have done would have cost her, her life.

The Hokage stuck his hand out and slowly started lifting Sono's chin up.

"Keep your head; you one day Ms. Sono Yamanaka will become a strong kunoichi and make Konoha proud." The Hokage's eyes were gleaming and nothing about that sentence seemed false to Sono.

Sono bowed before the Hokage and left the office feeling a little up lifted.

Hours passed before a new body immerged in the Hokage's office.

"Yes Iruka," The Hokage said.

"Hokage-sama, I want to talk to you about the teams."

"Iruka, please not know. I've had enough head-ache and confusion for one day."

The Hokage waved off Iruka and released his kage bushin. Those things could really make a man tired; he trucked up the stairs of his mansion and was greeted with a pile of paperwork next to his rooms' door.

The Hokage sighed in defeat, "Damn it."

* * *

Sono pulled the covers of her bed over her body and picked up the book on her nightstand. Books served as a dual purpose to her, she could gain knowledge and wind down from the day just by reading them. Winding down was something Sono needed badly; when she got home her parents interrogated the hell out of her. They showed a lot of affection towards her; though they weren't supposed to like her. Her mother hugged her while saying she thought she was dead. Her father however looked past this and wanted to know the true motive to her late arrival. She only told him that the Hokage wanted to congratulate her on some test scores and what not. He took the bait, but she knew he only did it because her mother was there.

'Of mice and shinobi,' Sono thought.

She indulged herself in the book, written before the first shinobi world war. It followed a band of missing-nin who roamed the world in search fame and fortune; it was also quite said. Sono made it to the halfway point of her book before sleep caught her eye.

* * *

"It's just, I have trouble admitting my feelings," Choji whispered.

Shikamaru yawned and readjusted his sleeping bag.

"So you're basically shy, and uncourageous," Shikamaru said.

"I really like her, I just." – "You baka, you're sleeping," Choji said.

It was true; though he wasn't insensitive, Shikamaru grew tired of Choji constantly sputtering out his feelings for the girl.

'Man, Choji don't go barking up that tree . . . she doesn't like you. But it's not my decision who he likes,' Shikamaru thought.

* * *

Sono woke early; early enough to the point that the sun had barely risen. She did this in fear of a repeat of what happened yesterday. A happy, Sasuke loving Ino was better than a crazed stalker one. Sono went through her basic routine and even went to the lengths of straightening her hair. When she finished, her hair was no longer tangled but straight. Not as straight as her sisters but it was good enough for it being one of the few times she used the device. Breakfast consisted of eggs and noodles; but, it was interrupt by a scream belonging to her sister.

"Sono, why didn't you wake me up? The academy opens in twenty minutes and I haven't even started the process of brushing my hair, let alone washed my face. "

Ino stormed down the stairs and grabbed Sono's wrist with her right hand. In her left was a brush. She marched outside and broke into a manageable pace for her sister.

"What about, hell, br-br-breakfast?"

"Screw it; I'll just skip it to become thinner."

Ino's unhealthy eating habits bothered Sono. Her parents weren't oblivious to what she was doing, they just didn't interfere. What started as skipping lunch soon turned to skipping dinner, then breakfast, then she'd just drink water. Sono had no problem with diets; it just sickened her that her sister was practically killing her body for one boy. The Yamanaka's arrived at the academy on time to Ino's dismay; this time Sono wasn't in the dirt or unconscious. Iruka strode in after them and began his speech. Sono found her usual seat in the back and tuned in to what Iruka was saying.

"The genin test this year will compose of two parts. The first part is a written exam."

Nearly half the classed groaned, some even shuddered.

"You'll be given an hour to complete it. Once over, you'll start the second part; the second part consists of you performing a correct henge or creating a bushin."

Tests were quickly passed out and Sono started on hers.

* * *

'Question one: Genjutsu can affect the mind, the senses, or both. That's too easy, if all the questions are like this I might get a perfect,' Sono thought.

She was indeed correct; majority of the questions were about the shinobi world. Very few were about physics or law. Sono was one of the first to finish; she popped her head up and saw that Sasuke, Sakura, Shikamaru, and her friend Shino had all stopped working as well. She also spotted Naruto shaking profoundly in his desk; sweat could be seen dripping from his brow.

'Damn, damn, damn it! I'm going to fail again!' Naruto thought.

The test was over and soon the students found themselves being called into a room one by one alphabetically. Cheering and the occasional sound of sobbing could be heard as students left the testing room.

Her last name, being Yamanaka, meant she would be one of the last to be tested. Thirty minutes had passed and those only in the room were: herself, Naruto, her sister and Sasuke. Her sister attached herself to Sasuke and fawned over him before he was called up to go. Ino had to be forcefully removed from his arms before he entered the room. Sasuke's test seemed to go by extremely fast to Sono. The boy was in and out before she had a chance to throw away he trash.

Naruto was called next and she mentally wished him luck. Though she envied his free spirit, she didn't envy the fact that he was the dead last. She'd never seen the boy work hard but she, maybe once or twice, saw his pranks. They were elaborate and the traps were placed just right; she wondered why he was dead last if he could easily prank a chunin and get away with it. Sono and Ino heard screaming coming from the test room and Sono felt a huge wave of chakra rush through her. The boy was definitely overcharging a jutsu. The chakra subsided and what followed was quietness followed by-

"You fail."

Sono felt sorry for the boy, but not as much as one would think. Rules were rules and they were meant to be followed. So if Naruto couldn't produce a proper henge or bushin than he didn't deserve to pass.

'He never had a chance of passing,' Ino inwardly smirked.

Ino was called in next; it took her close to five minutes to complete the test and pass. Sono was called in after her sister; she assumed that her sister passed.

"Sonohoka Yamanaka, please produce a henge of the Hokage's wife," Iruka said.

Sono racked her brain searching for pictures of the Hokage's wife. She did this while scanning the room and seeing the second proctor in the room. The man must have been new because she never saw him before. His hair was an off white color and he looked pleasant in the face. Sono placed her fingers in the ram seal.

'Henge no jutsu,' she thought.

Puffs of smoke surrounded her.

"Sono, why did you change into yourself?" Iruka asked.

"Iruka-sensai, the Hokage's wife, Biwako, died during the kyuubi attack." Sono said.

The white haired proctor flinched.

"I was barely a month old so I and my entire generation would have never seen her or remember her," Sono said.

"Correct; you pass Sono," Iruka said.

Sono collected her _hitai_ and walked home. This time she made sure to devote her whole attention to where she was walking.

* * *

She opened the door of her house and saw balloons and even a banner.

'Are these for me?' Sono thought.

She continued gazing around the room and even finished reading the banner. It read 'congratulations on graduating, we love you Ino.' Sono's parents weren't mean to her but this had to be the worst thing they did to her. Did they not believe in her to pass? Was she not supposed to be successful? Sono didn't cry about this, she just kept a stone look on her face and walked up the stairs. At the top of the staircase, her parents hopped out. She had no desire to see them; she sprinted past them and slammed her door shut. What she missed was the poster her father held for her and the cupcake her mother held shakily in her hands. Both of them set up Ino's banner first because they knew she would be the first to come home. They then planned to surprise Sono, but clearly it didn't work. Tanaka looked at Inoichi's face; he shot her back a confused expression. They didn't bother to meddle in what their daughter was going through so they returned to their bedroom.

* * *

The Hokage had multiple things on his mind; all of these left him with an abundance of stress. First, the civilian council was yet again trying to crack down on Naruto's case. They stated that the boy skipped out on paying for a kunai. While in fact this wasn't true, they boy was over charged and the Hokage knew it. Second, he was still racking his brain on how the new genin teams should be stacked. Lastly third, he had a huge stack of mission reports, complaints, and taxes to take care. The assistance of a kage bushin would still make the work spill into next week. There was a knock on his door and in came Iruka.

"Hokage-sama," Iruka said while bowing.

"I want to apologize for my actions yesterday but I need to talk to you about the genin teams."

The Hokage rubbed the temple of his head and motioned for Iruka to continue.

"As you may already know, majority of the genin passed. The problem I'm having is trying to place Sonohoka Yamanaka on a team. Adding her to a team of three would break Konoha policies and letting her skip a year would be unfair," Iruka said.

The Hokage thought of possible solutions as Iruka continued his 'mini' speech. The Hokage stuck his hand out; meaning, that Iruka was supposed to stop talking and listen to him. Iruka shut his mouth and the Hokage proceeded.

"Do you remember that special genin team from two years ago?"

Iruka nodded, "How couldn't I, they were one of the most disastrous genin teams in Konoha history. It amazes me that one of them actually made it to chunin ranks."

"I believe it will be beneficial to add her to that team," the Hokage said.

Iruka nearly choked and gave the Hokage an 'are you serious' kind of look.

"Iruka, she is very mature for her age, and those two need someone wise to keep them in line."

"B-But Hokage-sama, have you forgot of her social barrier. How can a team thrive if one doesn't communicate?" Iruka questioned.

The Hokage flashed Iruka a grin, "Trust me, they'll find a way."

* * *

The village of Konoha soon found itself turning to dusk and the stars and moon descended down in the view of its atmosphere. The sight of the stars and moon in the black sky was truly pretty to any who observed. Currently, only two saw the night sky; a certain Nara and Akimichi that is.

"Just look at the sky, I bet this beats cloud watching," Choji said.

Shikamaru yawned, "Stop being a drag."

The two had been watching the sky since they first got back from the genin test. It was relaxing; they also talked, mainly sticking to small chat, just to fill the quietness.

"I'm going to do it," Choji said.

"Do what?" Shikamaru questioned.

"I'm going to talk to her, I thought I'd have enough courage to say something today but my insides were just killing me; I felt as if I ate some spicy pork," Choji said.

"Umm, so you're still crazy for that girl," Shikamaru said.

Choji nodded. He liked her because she wasn't like all the others girls in his class. All of the girls fawned over Sasuke Uchiha as if he were a demi-god. The only one, make that two, who didn't see this were Hinata and Sono. Choji thought of Hinata as cute but he didn't a want a girl that was just cute; and everyone knew she had an obvious crush on Naruto. Sono attracted Choji not with her looks but her mind. The one-liners she'd manage to say to him always got his tongue tied and his palms sweaty. Choji remained on the grass; star watching with Shikamaru, his cheeks ablaze, thinking about his girl.

* * *

Sono was a sleep, but she was a light sleeper. The sirens that went off in the middle of the night woke her with a vengeance. She popped out her bed and slowly went to open her bedroom door. Her hand was at the door knob but she hesitated; she heard quick footsteps descended down the stairs and out the house.

'Was that dad,' she thought.

She lightly walked down the staircase and opened her front door to only be amazed and curious. The sky was filled with specks of black or gray moving in all directions. She assumed that the figures were ninja. Her guess was proven accurate when a shinobi fell from the sky and landed in front of her face.

The man spoke with a squeaky voice, "It's not safe to be outside, the village is in a state of emergency, please remain calm and stay inside."

'That's really going to help me remain calm,' Sono thought as she stepped back into her house and closed her door.

She went back to her room and tried to fall asleep. She remained awake only because the sirens were not turned off. That night she had a very 'broken' sleep.

* * *

She got up in time to hear Ino yelling.

"This is not happening again! Sono get down here or we're going to be late!"

She overslept and had to deal with the consequence of her sister. She quickly traded her crimson jacket for a long sleeve red shirt. She wore her _hitai _the usual way, around the forehead, and put her hair into low ponytail; which was in contrast to her sister who wore hers high. She rushed out the door and avoided Ino reaching for her wrist. The two were met by Sakura.

"Bill-board brow," Ino said.

"Ino-pig," Sakura said.

"You know, Sasuke's going to love me when he gets placed on my teams," Ino said.

"Ya right, like Sasuke would fall for a girl like you. He's definitely going to be with me," Sakura said.

"Dream on, I'll be dead before that happens, and I don't plan on dying anytime soon," Ino retorted.

"This maidens dream is a reality," Sakura said.

"Maiden . . . more like huge head," Ino spat.

"Look who's talking hog," Sakura snapped.

The insults got worse and the girls started walking closer to each other. The girls shoulders soon found themselves crushed together; the girls glared at each other and were walking at a sprint like pace. Sono settled behind the girls and walked at an easy civilian pace.

Sakura and Ino burst through the academy door both screaming-

"I'm first!"

Sono strolled in and noticed that Naruto was in the classroom; Shikamaru also noticed.

"Why are you here Naruto, you didn't pass," Shikamaru said.

"Do you see this _hitai_, huh huh, well guess what, I passed," Naruto yapped.

* * *

Sono settled down in a seat in the back next to her friends. The commotion in the classroom seemed to increase as soon as Naruto accidentally kissed Sasuke. Sono felt bad for the boy; fangirls swarmed around Naruto and got their hits in. By the time Iruka walked in, the boy had welts all around his face and his clothes looked ragged.

"Today is the first day of your genin life. As genin, you're placed at the bottom of the shinobi force and thus need the assistance of a jonin. You will all be placed into a group of three and be assigned a teacher. I'll start with team one," Iruka said.

Sono crossed her fingers and hoped that she got a good group.

"Kaede, Doitsu Hyuuga, and Sonohoka Yamanaka. You're sensei is outside," Iruka said.

Sono stood up looking puzzled; she never heard either of the names before so she looked around the classroom. No other students stood up so she proceeded out the door. She opened the door and assumed the two figures waiting outside were Kaede and Doitsu who didn't looking anything like twelve year olds.

* * *

**And I end with a cliff hanger; sorry for the long update (don't kill me). Suggest anything that could help my improve. **

**Terminology:**

_Hitai __**-**_Head band that identifies a ninja's village affiliation

_Shunshin no jutsu_ - The user moves at high speeds, appearing to others as if they teleported. The distance shunshin'd depends on how much chakra is put into the technique

_Kage bushin no jutsu _- The user splits their chakra in half and creates a solid clone of themselves.

_Raiton - _Lightning element


End file.
